How did Ananda Lewis die? Former MTV VJ’s cause of death explored as she passes away at 52

Ananda Lewis, best known for hosting BET’s Teen Summit and rising to fame as a popular MTV VJ, died on June 11 at the age of fifty-two. The news was shared by her sister, Lakshmi Emory, who honored her memory in a heartfelt Facebook post.

"She’s free, and in His heavenly arms. 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 Lord, rest her soul🙏🏽"

Cousin of Ananda, Felece Antoinette, also shared the news on Facebook with the statement:

"My beautiful, gifted, multitalented, funny, intelligent, witty and brave cousin TV personality Ananda Lewis gained her wings today. No more pain. Please keep her sister Lakshmi LS Emory and the entire Lewis family lifted in prayer. RIH Bravebird, I’ll see you on the other side. 🙏🏽💔😭😢🕊️🕊️💐💐💐"

Ananda had been battling breast cancer for years and first spoke about it publicly in 2020. While it was stage three when she first opened up in her social media post, Ananda revealed in 2024 that the cancer had progressed to stage four.

Ananda Lewis used her voice to raise awareness about breast cancer

Ananda Lewis revealed the breast cancer news in 2020 through a social media post where she wrote:

"This is tough for me, but if just ONE woman decides to get her mammogram after watching this, what I’m going through will be worth it. 🌸PRACTICE EARLY DETECTION🌸 Share this with a woman you love. These 6 minutes could help save her life."

In the video, Ananda Lewis revealed that she had been battling cancer for two years and had Stage III breast cancer in her lymph. Lewis also encouraged women to get their mammograms throughout the video.

In 2024, Lewis revealed to CNN in an interview with Stephanie Elam and Sara Sidner that her breast cancer had progressed to Stage IV.

In the interview, she said:

"My plan at first was to get out excessive toxins in my body. I felt like my body is intelligent, I know that to be true. Our bodies are brilliantly made. I decided to keep my tumor and try to work it out of my body a different way. Looking back on that, I go, ‘You know what? Maybe I should have.’"

In Essence's January/February 2025 issue, Ananda told the outlet about the precautions she took during the journey by saying:

"I dove into the research and learned that environmental and lifestyle factors influence 90 percent of what causes cancer. So I stopped drinking alcohol. I stopped consuming sugar. I did a cleanse to get the buildup of toxins in my body out. I began to shift the way I manage stress. My goal was to do things that supported my body’s ability to continue to be whole enough to heal, instead of destroying it up front."

Talking about stage 4 cancer, she said:

"Stage 4 doesn’t mean to me that all hope is lost and I’m going to die—as many headlines about me have said. It means I have to do bigger things to get it back in check. I’m on regular standard-of-care meds and am continuing the integrative approach, which includes traditional Chinese medicine and more."

She ended her interview by encouraging other women out there:

"I would say to women: Do everything in your power to avoid my story becoming yours. If I had known what I know now 10 years ago, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up here. I would have been cold plunging, exercising consistently, making sure my vitamin D levels were good, detoxing my body on a monthly and yearly basis, and sleeping better."

Ananda Lewis was married to Harry Smith and had a son, Langston.

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